


And a Happy New Year

by hauntedpanels



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Chanukah, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Fandom Hanukkah Challenge, Fluff, Hanukkah, One Shot, This is pure fluff, chell and GLaDOS celebrate the holidays, chell is jewish you guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 04:14:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9054889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hauntedpanels/pseuds/hauntedpanels
Summary: Chell remarked on how lucky she was, remembering the cold and harsh winter outside of the facility that had driven her back. That, and the aching she felt being away from GLaDOS -- though she’d never admit it. 
Chell and GLaDOS celebrate the winter holidays together.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i see a lot of christmas fics and being jewish, i wanted to make a fluffy fic of GLaDOS and chell celebrating chanukah. this is short but i wrote it up really fast. i hope you enjoy it, and happy holidays!

GLaDOS watched as Chell struck a match and lit two candles on the makeshift menorah they’d built out of spare pieces of metal welded together. After finishing, Chell turned around to GLaDOS, smiling warmly and anticipating her singing a prayer. The AI found herself frantically searching her databases and translator to sing the Hebrew song. All of this was new to her, but watching how happy Chell was seeing her learn about her culture was worth it.

“So now we blow it out and make a wish, right?” GLaDOS joked. Chell fell into her optic, wrapping the supercomputer in a big hug and letting out a silent laugh. “Ch-chag sam..each?” GLaDOS said, stumbling on the unfamiliar language. “I said that correctly, right?” Chell nodded, still smiling. “Well,” she began, “it’s not a party without cake.”

The AI had transformed her main chamber to be much more liveable long ago when Chell returned to Aperture Science, setting up a place for her former test subject to sleep, wash, and eat. Chell made her way to the small kitchen in the corner and pulled out all the ingredients. She recalled when they’d tried this a long time ago, only to find stale and rotten cake mixes, milk, and the like. Despite her nervousness, GLaDOS had allowed Chell to go to the surface again and stock up on food, including the ingredients needed to make her famous black forest cake.

“I’m sure you’re wondering, “Why no latkes?” Well, I’ll tell you why. You used up the last of our potatoes when you pulled that little stunt of yours. So you only have yourself to blame.” Chell rolled her eyes and laughed. “But I think cake will do. And if we have the ingredients, we could also make sufganiyot.” Chell raised her eyebrows, surprised her girlfriend even knew what that was. She nodded her head, remarking on how she hadn’t had the pastry since she was a child. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve been doing some reading. I also read up on how to play dreidel. The good news is now, if I ever have hands, I’ll be able to play dreidel. The bad news is I will never have hands. Also we don’t have a dreidel.” Chell let out a little giggle turning back around to pull out a mixing bowl and the ingredients for the cake. She started with the dry ingredients, pouring in the cake mix and sugar, and then added the eggs, milk, and vegetable oil, beating it into a batter. A bit of the mixture splattered and hit Chell in the face.

“Nice going. Look, it’s all over your sweater, too. You’re supposed to  _ eat _ food, not wear it. Didn’t your parents ever teach you that?” She paused. “Oh wait.”

Chell beamed and laughed, jokingly sticking her middle finger in front of her girlfriend’s vision as she turned back around to attend to her cake.

“I’m not even going to comment on that,” was her only response. Her companion spun around again and corrected the gesture, forming a heart with her hands instead. “Now  _ that’s  _ better.”

Chell finally finished mixing the batter and placed it in the oven, giving her some time to spend with her her girlfriend, who’d left the incinerator open to mimic a fireplace. The former test subject sat on the floor in front of it and leaned up against the AI, taking in the warmth of the fire. She remarked on how lucky she was, remembering the cold and harsh winter outside of the facility that had driven her back. That, and the aching she felt being away from GLaDOS -- though she’d never admit it.

Chell jumped when she heard the timer and rushed over, pulling the cake out of the oven and allowing it to cool briefly before she began icing it. She covered it with coconut pecan frosting and added a few cherries. Finally, she stuck a candle in the top and used the  _ shamash, _ or the “helper candle,” from the menorah to light it. She grabbed a fork and strode back over to her place next to the incinerator.

While she was gone, GLaDOS had pulled down a monitor that gave view to the field outside of the facility. The two admired the soft snowflakes that flurried down, covering the ground. Chell wrapped her arm around GLaDOS, and the supercomputer nuzzled closer to her, eliminating any space between them. The woman took in a bite of the cake, still warm to the touch, as they looked up at the stars from the outside sky shining on the monitor.

“I wonder how that moron and his friend are enjoying their Chanukah,” GLaDOS teased. Her girlfriend laughed softly. “Hey -- look! A deer!”

Chell squinted her eyes, trying to make out the figure in the snow. A slender doe made its way through the snow drift, followed by a buck and two small fawns. She smiled and placed a soft kiss on GLaDOS’ optic.

“Happy Chanukah, Chell,” she said warmly.

For the first time in a long while, Chell decided to speak. It was her holiday present to GLaDOS, she decided. Despite the discomfort and difficulty she found with talking, she made the effort, for the sake of her girlfriend’s happiness.

“Happy Chanukah, GLaDOS. I love you.”


End file.
